ATV (Asia Television) shut down its broadcasting services the moment the clock struck midnight on Saturday, April 2, and former staff have blamed investor and mainland tycoon Wong Ching for the station's woes. According to them, Wong's mismanagement led to the death of Hong Kong's first Cantonese television station.

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According to South China Morning Post, former ATV staff have recalled how the broadcasting network, which they saw as a real rival to TVB, flourished under the leadership of Lim Por-yen, a Hong Kong industrialist, from 1988 to 1998.  

Tsang Hin-kwok, who worked as an engineer for ATV for 18 years, voiced his sentiments. "Wong's handling of the station was really bad," he said. "It was utterly wrong to drive away all our advertising clients."

Tsang explained that Wong was new to the industry, and decided to significantly increase the advertising rate to cover the operating costs of the network. While this seemed harmless, the engineer explained that he failed to consider the broadcaster's market value.

"He also ruined our brand," Tsang said. Although he admits that ATV has become a weak station, Tsang confessed that he is still heartbroken to see it officially shut down as there are people who depend on the network to make a living.

Wong took over the Hong Kong-based station in 2010 and promised that he would make it "Asia's CNN." However, in 2014, he stopped making sure the station earned a substantial income as he claimed to have already fulfilled his mission after investing into the network.

Even Kiwi Yuen Kit-yee, a former ATV actress, who starred in The Pride of Chaozhou, supported Tsang's statements and relived her happy times at the station under Lim's management. Under Lim, she revealed that they were respected, cared for and given numerous opportunities. The bosses who came after Lim were controlling and simply ignored the opinions of the staff, she revealed.

So, is there still something in store for the network? Jeff Wong Sau-tung, the senior public relations manager of ATV, said that the future remains uncertain. The network can still be transformed into a satellite TV or online station, but it would largely depend on the investors.

ATV has bid farewell to its audience after its free-to-air license expired on midnight on April 2.

TagsATV, ATV Network, ATV Hong Kong, Asia Television, Asia's CNN, Wong Ching, ATV Closes, ATV Shuts Down, Why ATV shut down, Kiwi Yuen, Hong Kong TV Network